- Applied Behavior Analysis Antecedent-Based Interventions Questions and Answers Flashcards

A BCBA discovers that a client's self-injurious behavior (SIB) is most frequent during loud, crowded environments. The MOST appropriate antecedent intervention would be to:

Answer: Systematically desensitize the client to noise while also modifying the environment to reduce stimulation

Combining environmental modification with systematic desensitization addresses both the immediate antecedent trigger and builds long-term tolerance to the aversive stimulus.

Which of the following is a critical distinction between a discriminative stimulus (SD) and a motivating operation (MO)?

Answer: An MO alters the value of a reinforcer and the frequency of related behavior; an SD signals the availability of reinforcement

MOs have a value-altering effect and a behavior-altering effect, whereas SDs signal reinforcement availability without changing the value of that reinforcer.

Pre-session satiation is used as an antecedent strategy to address attention-maintained problem behavior by:

Answer: Providing abundant attention before the session to temporarily reduce its reinforcing value

Pre-session satiation temporarily abolishes the reinforcing effectiveness of attention, making attention-maintained problem behavior less likely during the subsequent session.

When implementing antecedent exercise as an intervention for stereotypy or aggression, the proposed mechanism is PRIMARILY:

Answer: Vigorous physical activity alters neurochemistry and reduces the deprivation state that drives the behavior

Antecedent exercise is thought to function as an abolishing operation by affecting neurochemical states and reducing the establishing conditions for problem behavior.

A behavior technician is instructed to present only high-preference materials during work sessions with a client who engages in escape-maintained problem behavior. This strategy functions as an antecedent intervention by:

Answer: Reducing the aversive quality of the task, thereby decreasing the EO for escape

Embedding preferred materials into tasks reduces the aversive value of the instructional session, acting as an abolishing operation for escape-maintained behavior.

An antecedent intervention package for a student with ASD includes visual supports, structured routines, and environmental predictability. The COMMON behavioral function served by all three components is:

Answer: They each reduce uncertainty and unpredictability that functions as an EO for problem behavior

Visual supports, structured routines, and environmental predictability all decrease ambiguity, thereby reducing the establishing operation that drives escape or protest behavior.

In designing antecedent interventions, a behavior analyst must ensure the intervention addresses the FUNCTION of behavior. If problem behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement, which antecedent strategy is MOST likely to be effective?

Answer: Enriching the environment with alternative sensory stimulation

Environmental enrichment with alternative sensory stimuli can compete with and reduce automatically maintained behavior by providing substitute sources of sensory reinforcement.